Cheering up Fenton
by notaghost
Summary: Sam gets a call from an upset Danny and rushes over to help cheer him up. Oneshot.


"Danny?"

"Sam, I…"

"Danny?" Sam stood up from her bed, her combat boots making a noise against the floor. A glance in the mirror across her revealed a worried expression.

"I…" another choked sob made its way to her ears.

"What's wrong?" she asked, not being able to help the worry seep through her voice. "A ghost? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, that's not it. I just..." he paused, and Sam thought he must have calmed down a bit before she heard him crying again. "I just would appreciate it if you could come over…" his voice quieted. "I just really need someone right now."

"I'll be there in a second, okay? Do you want me to stay on the phone with you until I get there? You're at home, right?" Sam frowned, her eyebrows knitting together with worry.

"Yeah, I'm at home. And I think I can handle it. Thanks, Sam."

"Anytime, Danny."

Her grandma didn't seem to mind her going out despite it being midnight. Well, once Sam explained where she was going that is. She even agreed to cover for her, in case her parents noticed she was gone. The black haired girl left the house with a smile on her face, grateful for her grandmother's help.

She jogged to Danny's house, which wasn't that big of a deal. Sam liked running, especially since it kept her focused on her feet rather than letting her worry about her friend. Besides, the sooner she got there the sooner she would be able to find out what was wrong. She worried about Danny. Quite a lot actually. He was always risking his neck for other people, never mind that he had himself to take care of.

She didn't have to worry about waking his parents by ringing the doorbell. Instead, she used the key Tucker and her had been given quite a while ago and quietly let herself into the house, making sure to be as quick and quiet as possible. All the lights were off, so made sure to be extremely careful not to knock something over. She was crossing her fingers and hoping she wouldn't accidentally step on a ghost invention, or anything else that might make a noise. Although Mr. and Mrs. Fenton had adapted to their sons friends coming in and out of the house she doubted they would be very happy to see her there this late at night.

"Danny?" she whispered on reaching his room. Her hand lightly knocked on the door before coming in. After shutting the door behind her she looked toward the direction of his bed, not surprised to see Danny huddled there, his knees brought up to his chest and his head resting on his knees. If it hadn't been completely silent she almost could have overlooked the soft crying sounds coming from him.

Wordlessly, Sam walked over to his bed, sitting on the edge and gently putting her hand on his shoulder. He looked up, his eyes that were normally a bright blue now dull and bloodshot as tears leaked out from them. "What's wrong?" she asked him, offering what she hoped was a comforting smile.

All she heard was a hasty "Sorry," come from his lips and then his arms were around her, his face resting in the crook of her neck. His shaking shoulders, and the wetness on Sam's neck were now the only indication that he was crying now.

Slightly surprised, her hand came up to touch his head, fingers combing through his hair as the other remained on his shoulder. "Sorry." He whispered again as he hugged her a bit tighter, shoulders shaking a bit harder. Sam couldn't help but notice how thin he seemed.

They stayed like that for a while, neither one of them talking. The only sound that could be heard was short, shaky breaths coming from the halfa. Once it seemed like Danny had calmed down enough, Sam placed both her hands on his shoulder pushing him away enough for her to get a good look at him.

It seemed like he had caved in on himself. Somehow, Danny looked so much _weaker. _His cheeks seemed a bit more hollow, the shadows under his eyes seemed darker. "Now," her voice, although quiet, pierced through the silence. "You wanna talk about it?"

"I just—" his lip trembled. "I'm so _tired. _I—I don't know how much longer I can take this anymore."

"Take what anymore?" For the most part, Sam already knew what he was talking about, and she didn't really need him to explain, but this was her way of making him talk. She wanted to give Danny the chance to let all of his emotions out—which was something didn't really do all that often.

"Everything!" he replied, his hands went up to pull at his hair, making it more of a mess than what it usually was. "Sometimes I don't even want to do this anymore. Sometimes I hate being Danny Phantom, I mean—" A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he hung his head, his arms falling back down to tug at his ankles. "I know that I was the one who asked for this. I was the one who wanted to play hero. I know that. I just wish I could get a little appreciation every once in a while, you know?' he continued without waiting for an answer. "I mean, I stay up all night catching ghosts and keeping people from harm, and what do I get? A grounding from Mom and Dad for breaking curfew and a detention from Lancer for being late to class the next morning. Oh, and lets say for once, _for once_ I actually get a good grade on something? Then there's Dash waiting to pummel my good mood right out of me." Danny's head lifted, and Sam could see that for a moment, they were glowing green. "I get beaten up every. Single. Day. By humans and ghosts alike. My own parents hate me!" the green disappeared from his eyes as they began to water again. "No one likes me. Maybe Spectra's right. Maybe I am just a freak."

"Danny, you are _not _a freak." Sam reached out to grab his hand as he started to cry again. "B-besides," she continued. "What's wrong with being a freak anyway?"

"Thanks a lot, Sam." Danny's voice was dripping with sarcasm, but he at least gave out a small chuckle.

She heard another sharp intake of breath before he continued talking. Slower, this time. "Sometimes," he swallowed. "I see all these people. Having the time of their lives. Living like normal people should live and-and-" another sob came from his throat as he tried to continue talking. "And sometimes I want to d-to do that too. I want to hang out with my friends and be able to go places without having a ghost show up and ruin everything! I even dragged you and Tucker into this and now you guys can't even enjoy yourselves either!"

"Shh...calm down, it's okay." she tried to comfort him on seeing that he couldn't continue without crying. "You didn't drag me and Tucker into anything, okay? If we didn't want to do this, we wouldn't. It isn't a big deal. We aren't sacrificing anything, so you don't have to worry about that."

"Yes you are," he said with a solemn face. One that didn't seem like it would listen to reason. "You guys are spending your time trying to help me when you could be doing things that you actually want to do-"

"We want to spend time with you, Danny. And we want to _help _you. You aren't-"

"Sometimes," He cut her off, and then paused, realizing that his voice seemed to have been growing more hysterical by the second. "Sometimes I wonder just how better off the world would be without me."

Sam kept quiet, letting the meaning of those words ricochet off the walls. "Danny Fenton. Don't you ever-_ever _think or say anything like that again." he stayed quiet, refusing to look at her now. Sam realized that her tone of voice may have become a bit too harsh.

"Hey, I'm serious though." She gave his hands a small squeeze, softening her voice. Maybe she could try something lighter to cheer him up? "There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, Danny. Do know how many people you've saved? How many people look up to you? There are girls and boys out there with little Danny Phantom action figures for crying out loud!" she laughed at the image, and was happy to see him smiling a bit too. "And no, you didn't ask to be turned half ghost, but who else would use their powers the way that you've been? Danny, you're amazing, okay? You're sweet, and caring, and unique…" she trailed off for a moment before continuing. "…And you're my best friend. I need you. And so does the rest of Amity Park, okay? So don't ever think otherwise. And if you ever do, I'll be there to knock some sense into you." And before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned in and gave him a little peck on the cheek and quickly pulled back.

Danny turned his head, his hand coming up to touch his cheek. The look on his face was amusing to say in the least. "…Is that your way of knocking some sense into me?" he muttered, blushing slightly. "Because I don't think it worked very well. Maybe you should try again…?" Sam stared at him in shock for a minute before breaking out into a grin.

"Oh shut up, you idiot."

**Hi there! So first off, I apologize for any OOCness that may have occurred as well as if my writing may not have been very good. ( I haven't even read over/edited this thing) This is my first Danny Phantom fanfiction as well as the first thing I've written in a really long time which is why it might be pretty crappy. I hope to improve that though. Feel free to shoot me a review if you want! Also, constructive criticism is appreciated as well (actually, pretty much any kind of review on this is appreciated). I was listening to Say When by the Fray when I came up with this c:**

**Oh, and one more thing. If any of you have any ideas for something I could possibly write next it would be appreciated. I have trouble coming up with plot ideas which is the main reason why I don't really write so much. Thanks for reading!**


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